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Sharing holiday traditions – readilearn

A great way of sharing information about holiday traditions is through the use of class surveys. It’s fun, engaging, and provides opportunities for learning across the curriculum.

Here are some of the benefits:

Children feel valued when they have opportunities to share information about themselves and their families.

Children’s social skills develop when they interact to find out interesting information about each other.

Children become more aware of their similarities and differences. This helps to develop feelings of acceptance and appreciation for the diversity represented in the class.

Children’s language skills develop as they talk to each other, asking questions and clarifying information.

Children learn to be organised and methodical in the collection, recording, interpretation, and reporting of data.

Children are fully engaged in the learning when they are asking questions they have raised and to which they are interested in finding the answers.

Because learning occurs in meaningful contexts and is integrated across subject areas, children can transfer learning to other situations.

Children enjoy learning about their classmates and the classroom community is strengthened.

This week I have uploaded three new resources to support early childhood teachers’ use of Yes or No class surveys, and a quick and easy recipe for entertaining at home or to contribute to a “bring a plate” function.

I was totally kidding – but in real survey research the informed consent is a sign of wonderful advances in research. Because it ensures the ultimate respect of the participants and empowers them while adding to the robustness.

and I guess for fun – the students could remind the person that they are surveying that “they could withdraw at any time” or “not answer any questions that make them uncomfortable.”

I don’t really celebrate Christmas, or any other holiday at this time of year, so I didn’t think this would be my kind of post. But I have to tell you that my heart leapt at the first line! I don’t recall doing surveys in my early years at school, but what fun it would have been! And I can add another skill to your list: if the children were to present their data as bar charts, they could also practice drawing straight lines and colouring in (I’m sure you’ll have a proper word for these skills).
Hope your website is doing great guns inspiring and supporting teachers in this important work.

Hi Anne, Thanks for your comment. I’ve thought of you with each Christmas post I write! I imagine you cringing as you read them, but there are many out there who happily celebrate and I try to make the opportunities for learning a little more meaningful than many of the repetitive fill in the box worksheets. I like to get the children involved in the learning, and give them some control over what they do. I’m pleased you saw beyond Christmas to the benefits of doing surveys. Using bar graphs is definitely another skills children could develop. Thanks for suggesting it.
Thanks also for the positive encouragement in your final statement. I very much appreciate it.

No, I don’t cringe! Christmas is for young children it would be weird therefore if you didn’t write about it. I have my own non-Christmas blog ready to post next week and I would cringe if anyone thought I was suggesting abolishing Christmas. Lots of people, from all sorts of backgrounds, love it and I’m all for people having fun!

Fun! There should be more of it! I look forward to your non-Christmas post. It is good to have discussions with those of differing viewpoints. How else do we grow? It’s always fun discussing ideas with you, whether we agree or not. 🙂